Home > SEO News Blog > Pixel free with Google’s Chromebook Pixel

Translate:

Latest SEO Articles:

Speaking At:

Follow Us:

Hear Us On:

Blog Partner Of:

Helping Out:

Archives

RSS

Top Posts

Beanstalk's SEO News Blog

At Beanstalk Search Engine Optimization we know that knowledge is power. That's the reason we started this SEO blog. We know that the better informed our visitors are, the better the decisions they will make for their websites and their online businesses. We hope you enjoy your stay and find the SEO news contained within this blog useful.

February 21, 2013

Pixel free with Google’s Chromebook Pixel

Google’s Chromebook was supposed to be more of a ‘big Android’, a tablet with a keyboard and an OS centered around the Chrome browser, subsidized to be cheaper than a full laptop and almost ‘disposable’ due to the low cost and lack of local storage/personalization.

This new laptop is nearly the opposite of the first Chromebooks:
- Expensive! At ~$1,449* you won’t want to be ‘disposing’ this?
- Powerful! An Intel i5 CPU
- 32GB local storage! Heaps of space for something that saves to the cloud?
- 2560 x 1700 3:2 12.85″ touch screen! For web browsing?
- 4GB RAM! How many tabs are you going to have open?
- Intel HD 4000 GPU! This is actually going to be handy for WebGL.
- 5hrs est. battery life! More than you should need between charges?
*(For the LTE Pixel. $1,299 for the WiFi Pixel)

So why is the highest resolution screen to ever be sold in a retail laptop getting married to a WebOS?

Well according to Google, the insane resolution is a nod to the future of the web and what’s in store.

So clearly the only thing that’s disposable about the Chromebook Pixel is the ‘disposable’ nature of the previous Chromebooks?

Speaking of what’s clear, this new Chromebook has a lot of not so obvious features:
- Back-lighting under the keyboard for low-light use
- Quality speakers that also lurk under the keyboard
- Stereo microphones and a 720p webcam in the lid
- A 3rd ‘keyboard’ microphone to eliminate typing noise in recordings
- Cooling vents in the screen hinge to avoid blockage
- A hinge design that does not lift the bottom of the laptop when opening
- Over-sized track-pad with special surface treatment
- A funky blue-red-yellow-green LED status bar/power light

In fact the fellows who have been hands-on with the Pixel admit that the whole affair comes off like a “high-end luxury automobile” with all the subtle attention to detail.

Not once have I seen any mention of who’s manufacturing the new Chromebook, but my guess would be that it’s a Lenovo device at the core.

The biggest concern seems to be the price, which is understandable, especially considering the ultra-low prices of competing tablets that seem much better engineered for the tasks that you’d use a Chromebook for.

Keep in mind that this is a Linux OS that runs a Chrome browser tuned for HTML5. Using the machine for much of anything outside of the browser or play store is going to require the skills of a nerdy power user to implement.

Here’s the original into video from 2009 when the Chrome OS was just launching (I love that ‘cloud’ wasn’t a buzz-word back then):

So while the new Google Chromebook Pixel can be used for lots of things this really seems like massive overkill for what you can tackle with Chrome OS right now.

SEO news blog post by Ryan Morben @ 5:03 pm

Categories: Browsers,Google Chrome,html 5,IT Industry,Operating Systems,Technology
Tags: chrome os, Chromebook Pixel, Google Chromebook, laptops —

January 31, 2013

Are you Modern? Take the test!

Two pro-Microsoft posts in one week? I know, Right?!

Clearly we are not masters of fate or IT news, so today’s headline is covering the new modern:IE Test Site setup to assist web developers with creating IE compatible site content.

Wasn’t it like, two days ago that I just pointed out that the big flaw with IE is that the old versions create a web design nightmare? *tap tap* .. Apparently this thing is turned on?

What does it test?

Actually the tool is a suite of tests with some specific test cases for IE browser specific issues.

Here’s a list of categories it will test and report on without setting up a ‘Site Owner’ account:

Fix common problems from supporting old versions of IE:
Known compatibility issues
Compatibility Mode
Frameworks & libraries
Web standards docmode
Help this webpage work well across browsers, across devices:
CSS prefixes
Browser plug-ins
Responsive web design
Browser detection
Consider building with some new features in Windows 8:
Touch browsing default
Start screen site tile

If you plug your URL in the page will test all these areas and report back to you where improvements could be made.

Additionally there is a direct link to the ‘Pinned Site Tile’ testing/design tool.

This tool lets you select an image (144×144 pixel PNG) and text for your website when a Windows 8 user wants to ‘Pin’ the site to their start menu.

My experience with the tool wasn’t great, likely due to some caching, but if you test your code against sites that do work properly you can still sort out the needed meta tags quickly enough.

Other Goodies?

Included in the suite is a link to the Internet Explorer Test Drive site to compare HTML5 features and performance with other browsers..

This site includes lots of cool demos and tests like ‘Penguin Mark’ that entertain and inform.

Technically, I ended up short on time to cover more, so if you dive in and start to wonder why we didn’t point out something new/interesting, feel free to let us know, we’re always open to feedback.

SEO news blog post by Ryan Morben @ 12:20 pm

January 7, 2013

The Windows 8 Gamble with Touch Technology

After a reluctant (and even hostile) reception to its new operating system, Windows 8, it seems that Microsoft has taken a billion-dollar gamble that the future of personal computing is touch technology.

Most of us are very familiar with touch technology; it has been incredibly successful. We use it every day on our smartphones, kiosks, and tablet computers, but with Windows 8, Microsoft is assuming (hoping) that users will find Windows 8 so attractive that they will want to use it the millions of home PCs around the world.

There are three main differences between tablet screens and a PC screen usage: the angle, distance and time interval; which iterates why touch technology is appropriate in some instances, and not in others.

While many are seeing touch technology for the first time, touch technology was originally introduced in the 1980s. The reason it didn’t catch on then, was due to a problem referred to at the time as “gorilla arm.” Repeated use of touch screens in a PC environment revealed that a painful condition that would arise with its users. Symptoms included a tingling ache from incurred from the repetitive stress injuries were associated with prolonged touch screen usage. Some experts say gorilla arm is what killed touch computing during its first wave in the early 1980s. The other issue of course comes from finger-grease. It is easy enough to clean of your smartphone, but it is certainly not convenient on a large monitor.

This recent gambit by Microsoft seems to show tangible desperateness of the once mighty software company as it struggles to remain as a leader in the computer world. It may be that we are seeing the final death throes of the failing giant as it places all its energies into the uncertain future of touch technology and its Windows operating system. Some have argued that the death of the PC is inevitable; but until such time as a new superior interface comes along, the future of PC usage will remain largely unchanged.

SEO news blog post by guestpost @ 11:28 am

Categories: Operating Systems,Technology
Tags: gorilla arm, touch screens, touch technology, Windows 8 —

December 11, 2012

Thinking of making an ‘App’ for the Apple Store?

You may want to re-think that decision, perhaps even focus on a ‘mobile’ provider for your site, or an Android app instead of one for Apple’s store.

Why? Well lets list the reasons:

- Android OS is shipping on more phones currently than any other mobile OS
- 2013 should be the year that Android overtakes iPhone in subscriber #s
- A mobile ‘face lift’ should load on any phone/browser
- Apple is cracking down on all ‘Apps’ that generate revenue outside their store..

The last one is a real kicker, especially for Microsoft who is currently unable to update their SkyDrive app after Apple realized it was handling in-app purchases without going through the Apple Store.

Essentially Apple is rejecting all Microsoft app updates and 3rd party apps that communicate with SkyDrive until Microsoft has a solution to Apple’s need for a 30% cut of all transactions done through it’s App Store.

So if you made an Apple Store ‘App’ for your site, all you can do with the ‘App’ is browse information and provide free resources, since any attempt to engage in a financial transaction would require the Apple App Store to participate, at a 30% margin.

That’s just.. wait for it.. rotten.

Making Easy Money by Ignoring Copyright Infringement

A North Korean Won with Park Jae-sang's face.

On the surface, it may seem counter-intuitive to your profit margin, but not letting people steal your content could be what’s stopping you from getting rich.

PSY, the chubby Korean behind the most popular YouTube video to-date, is raking in the profits from his ‘Gangnam Style’ video, and it’s all because he didn’t censor his own work by chasing copyright violations.

If you look at TV commercials, ad revenue, product endorsements, and other direct revenue from his popularity, PSY is making over $8 Million in 2012 alone.

Clearly there’s a trade off between copyrights and profits that doesn’t favor always locking down your content.

I’m wondering though, once fame has taken hold, if next year we’ll have a story about PSY suing people for copyright infringements?

SEO news blog post by Ryan Morben @ 12:59 pm

Categories: Coding,copyright,Internet Law,IT Industry,mobile,Operating Systems,seo articles,Technology,web design,YouTube
Tags: App Store, Gangnam Style, microsoft, PSY, SkyDrive —

November 29, 2012

The Karaoke Web Standard

KWS Side bar image

Well Microsoft has finally managed to get a leg up on all the current desktop web browsers available today with it’s new Karaoke Web Standard.

To quote the KWS wiki entry:

This specification defines a new API, focused on semantic language processing for two-way communication with a remote host. Eschewing typical binary protocols, this new interface creates a system-to-system forced sonic recognition on the receiving party.

The KWS definition page goes on to discuss key points like pending API access to the libation ES codebase, and encourages modification from the base parameters noting that each user has unique aptitudes in variety of related skills.

Indeed while some users, such as myself, have a low threshold for personal embarrassment (regardless of how many times a week I write these posts), I could possess high vocal aptitude that would mitigate a fond user experience if I were to stick with preset templates.

The spec deals with concerns such as bitrate, throttling, error mitigation, audio auth rights, P2P connectivity, and semantic packet delivery, but fails to touch on less favourable issues like hackers that implement auto-tuning modules.

Included with the announcement were two YouTube videos, one that explains the need for the new standard:

And a second video that focuses on presenting the new KWS:

Oddly the videos came along with a link “thebrowseryoulovedtohate.com” that’s got an extra ‘d’ in every instance?

The theme is apparently along the lines of “Have you tried IE Lately?”, with the assumption that you’ll like what you see.

I’m personally assuming that next week someone on the IE marketing team will get a phat bonus for a spike in downloads that doesn’t correlate to actual user shift.

FireFox 64bit?

In related news, FireFox has given up on 64bit development for now, listing a number of issues that make it a very wise decision, regardless of the folks that were ‘enjoying’ the struggle of maintaining a 64bit browser with very little 64bit extension support.

While a 64bit FireFox could theoretically run faster, the added expense of development was taxing the coders and holding back the progress of the browser vs. it’s competition.

If you MUST have a 64bit FireFox there is a build of FF with 64bit support, it’s called ‘WaterFox‘ and you can get it from Sourceforge.

Since I already had FireFox installed I grabbed the portable copy of WaterFox and it runs great, picking up most, if not all, of my FireFox profile/settings.

Personally? I’m using Chrome, and I am writing plugins for Chrome because I feel it’s going to win the browser war thanks to Android, Apple, and many other systems that use the WebKit engine by default.

SEO news blog post by Ryan Morben @ 10:50 am

Categories: Apple Safari,Browsers,Coding,Google Chrome,Internet Explorer,IT Industry,just for fun,Misc,Mozilla Firefox,Mozilla Firefox,Operating Systems,seo articles,Technology,YouTube
Tags: FireFox 64Bit, IE Sucks, Karaoke Web Standard, WaterFox —

November 6, 2012

Dogpile on Apple Day!

Clearly someone neglected to remind me that November 6th is the international Dog Pile on Apple Day!?

Lets take a look at a popular technology subreddit..

Not r/applesucks, just r/technology:

Judge puts an end to Apple’s patent license lawsuit against Motorola (arstechnica.com)
DEAR APPLE: I’m Leaving You – Business Insider (businessinsider.com)
Apple suing Amazon over term “Appstore” claiming “app store” is an Apple trademark. Judge disagrees (arstechnica.com)
Apples loses a lawsuit against Google for Patent licencing in Wisconsin (wired.com)
Apple may ditch Intel chips in Macs (engadget.com)
Your iPhone Could Be Disabled During The Next Protest You Attend (consumeraffairs.com)

Those are just the current headlines!

Last week we had a great story about internal politics in Apple, and the firing of Scott Forstall, a 15 year vet managing the Apps team.

Some folks felt that the departure was due to a change of attitude at Apple, from Jobs to Cook, where people unwilling to apologize aren’t welcome.

Others look at how Scott handled himself inside the company, acting out much like Jobs did, but without Jobs around he was making enemies instead of friends. Indeed Bob Mansfield cancelled retirement plans with Apple and agreed to 2 more years upon news of Scott’s firing.

It can’t be all that bad really, since Apple sold over 3 million iPads last weekend alone?

Plus, now that Apple lost the legal challenge over money owed to Motorola over patent licences it can just give up all intention of paying.

In fact many observers agree it was Apple’s lack of interest in following the law that cost them the case.

To paraphrase a really good reply to the decision:

Why this was dismissed with prejudice:
Apple wanted the judge to set license fees, but said that they would not agree to the ruling of the judge unless she set it at less than $1 per device.

…

The judge essentially said, fine, since Apple won’t adhere to legal judgements, Apple’s case is pointless.
The last ditch attempt to say Apple might adhere to legal judgements hasn’t swayed me, I dismiss the case, and Apple can’t bring it to trial further.

Why even bother with a trial when the plaintiff has made it clear they do not respect the law or the potential decision?

If I knew this judge I’d be pleading her to let me take her out for a free meal as a thank you.

So folks, if you see an Apple laying in the gutter, taking a power nap, just know that it’s hard being green.

SEO news blog post by Ryan Morben @ 12:07 pm

Categories: copyright,Internet Law,IT Industry,Misc,Operating Systems,Technology
Tags: Apple lawsuits, dogpile, reddit, Scott Forstall —

October 23, 2012

Wintergrate: Windows 8 Integrated

It’s fall and soon it will be winter, with Old St. Ballmer putting an integrated Windows 8, with integrated Internet Explorer, under the tree for Christmas this year, learning a new UI is all we have to fear.

Yes we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, you’ll have to re-learn Windows to love Windows 8.

So then you might ask, “Why bother learning Windows if I have to learn something new?“, which is where this post becomes informative.

Windows 8 isn’t trying to teach old dogs new tricks for the sake of being different; that’s someone else’s logo/catchphrase. Microsoft wants to integrate your devices and applications so that your efforts with one product aren’t wasted in another product.

What’s all this integrated brouhaha? Well this video shows you a sample of it:

That’s pretty cool stuff, and if you have embraced Microsoft products, say you have an XBox based Car-PC, this sort of integration tech between your smart phone or your tablet would really make you glad you invested with Microsoft.

The thing that gets me is that if my phone is over in the corner recharging, and I don’t own a surface, how ‘attached’ will I get to touching my screen vs. locating a mouse and keyboard?

If you become hooked on touching what’s that going to cost in terms of a multi-touch screen?

Looking at my local suppliers, a multi-touch 1080p 21″ screen is $200 more than the same screen without the overlay.

While that’s a lot less than it used to cost for an touch overlay equipped screen, it still adds far too much cost to the screen price to justify the usability.

As someone who has worked with touch technology for over 10years, I can also point out that unless you are super careful your touches will wear the screen in the sections you are touching frequently.

So until they are making it easy to remove/swap overlays I’d predict that this will be a bust in a few years if people adopt the current touch solutions for desktop use.

Do you have a hankering to try Windows 8 even without a touch option? It’s really not recommended but you can challenge yourself to trying it out using VirtualBox and either of the ISO files from this handy page: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/download (No Signups Needed!)

Search for Life

Google seems to be one step ahead of us, and indeed they have done it again, just weeks after starting a project involving “Conway’s Game of Life“, where I’d suggested we use the algorithm to animate some tiles in a website background.

Having beat me to the punch, I used an image generated from a Google search as the background image of this post.

However, if readers suggest some good images to tile and animate for a fun use of the code, I’m keen for suggestions, as long as they aren’t all along the lines of: “Grab random puppy and kitten images from Google image search and use those for the squares!”

SEO news blog post by Ryan Morben @ 11:10 am

Categories: Browsers,Google,Internet Explorer,IT Industry,Misc,Operating Systems,Search Engine News,Technology
Tags: device integration, game of life, IE10, Multi Touch, Windows 8, xbox —

October 16, 2012

SOON: Surface Tablet from Microsoft

October 26th 2012 will be remembered as the final day before all the snapping sounds started, the eve of the angry school girls holding images of devices they’ve never seen in real life.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the functionality that Microsoft has added to their tablet, and the effort they put into getting just the right amount of ‘snap’ feedback, probably cost them a lot more than we’d believe..

Animated GIF of a seal on an ice flow stalked by a polar bear

But, all too soon, the first users will be ‘snapping‘ these open and then hopping into ‘Bing‘ to find something while looking around the coffee shop to see who’s noticing them.. SOON!

All the play on word noises aside, with the 26th a mere 10 days away, the offer to get a Surface in your hands on the release date is pretty cool.

Microsoft is starting with 3 options:

- 64 GB with Black Touch KB Cover $699 (Sold Out)
- 32 GB with Black Cover $599 (Sold Out)
- 32 GB without a cover $499

You can buy the Touch Cover separately for $120 in 5 different badly photo-shopped colors, or buy a ‘physical KB’ style Type Cover for $129.99.

Clearly the discerning owner would have to opt for the ‘Type Cover’ so that it makes click sounds that will turn the heads of iPad users in the coffee shop.

That’s about where the envy will likely stop however, given the 1366×768 resolution, 2GB of RAM, proprietary NVidia T30 CPU, and applications exclusively supplied by the Microsoft Windows Store.

The Windows RT Surface tablet also comes with a trial copy of MS Office 2013 Home/Student RT Preview that you’ll have to upgrade to the full version later when it’s released.

Personally I’d hold off and wait for a NON Windows RT Surface.

- Good luck using a different OS if you find Windows 8 doesn’t match well with your needs
- Your choice of browser is currently IE10 or IE10 Desktop Mode
- Your sole provider of applications is Microsoft

It’s not news that I deeply dislike the idea of limited access/walled gardens/etc., but clearly this isn’t shared with everyone since nothing is slowing down the pre-sales; Heck Microsoft was actually having issues with page loading earlier today!

Oh speaking of which here’s the official link to the Microsoft Surface on the MS Store site.

Get Smart!

Would you believe that Harvard University is giving away free diplomas for their doctorate degrees in Medieval Latin?

No?

How about a free Networking course from Stanford University that covers packet switching and queuing?

No?

Would you believe it’s online and open to anyone?

Yup! If you always wanted to put ‘Stanford University’ on your resume, you can now do it for free, online, and nice reasonable 10 week duration, then click right here!

SEO news blog post by Ryan Morben @ 12:04 pm

Categories: Browsers,Deals,Internet Explorer,IT Industry,Misc,Operating Systems,Technology
Tags: free online education, IE10, Microsoft Surface, network course, Stanford, Surface tablet, Windows RT —

October 11, 2012

Windows 8 / IE10 and Flash Certification

Windows 8

Windows 8 is a tablet OS, and like any modern OS focused on tablets/touch/mobility options, there’s compatibility concerns with content not specifically written for a tablet/mobile device.

Apple’s famous for their certification process and using it for more than just the sake of ‘quality’ or ‘compatibility’ controls.

Indeed Microsoft has had certification for drivers, and applications in Windows for some time, but never to the point where something cannot be used without their certification.

If you wanted to install something that isn’t certified you’ll get a spooky warning, but I’ve never seen something completely fail to work due to a bad/missing certification on Windows.

Enter Windows 8 and IE10, a whole new ballgame, with two browser modes, one for normal use and a ‘desktop’ integration mode which has to play nice with the new Windows UI.

If you wish to publish web content that leverages the new ‘desktop mode’ you’ll want to visit Microsoft’s ‘developer guidance’ page for information on new meta tags and HTTP header codes that help flag such content.

In a nutshell they explain that either the header:

X-UA-Compatible: requiresActiveX=true

… OR the meta tag:

<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="requiresActiveX=true" />

… work to create a handy little prompt explaining that the content on the page requires the page to be viewed in ‘desktop’ mode, and even gives a single-click shortcut to switch over:

The same page also deals with ‘Compatibility Verification’ and the steps to test/certify that your flash content is compatible with the extra features of a tablet OS.

Of particular interest is the option of a single registry entry that allows testing of your site for ‘debugging’ to see just how broken your flash content is.

The key is located here:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Flash\DebugDomain
.. and if you wanted to make a .reg file for easy access the contents would be:
REGEDIT4 **Blank Line/Carriage Return** [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Flash\DebugDomain] @="www.mywebsite.com" **Blank Line/Carriage Return**

At that point you could right-click the .reg file you made and click on ‘install’ from within the pop-up menu.

Passing this .reg file to your developers would be fine, but since only one site can be specified, this is NOT a solution for your end users.

Obviously the best advice we can give, as SEOs, is to ditch your Flash content completely.

HTML5 with all it’s perks can replace almost anything you’ve done in Flash and Google’s even willing to help you make the switch by offering the Swiffy Flash -> HTML5 Conversion Tool.

If you feel your content is too sophisticated for Swiffy, or you haven’t tried the tool recently, you should!

Here’s an example of how well the tool works on a flash game with keyboard and mouse controls:

SEO news blog post by Ryan Morben @ 12:07 pm

Categories: Browsers,Code Tests,Coding,html 5,Internet Explorer,internet security,mobile,Operating Systems,seo articles,SEO Tips,SEO Tools,Technology,web design
Tags: Adobe Flash, certification, IE10, Swiffy, Windows 8 —

October 4, 2012

Google Chronos?

When I was a kid all I really wanted from my wrist watch was to tell the time, date, temperature, speed of movement, elevation, relative humidity, and it had to be a fully working calculator while still fitting on my wrist and not costing more than I could afford.

Yeah I was a humble child.

But I wasn’t alone in my desire to have the kitchen sink on my wrist!

Clearly there were others who wanted more than just time from the device they carry everywhere.

In 2001 news of the Bluetooth functions in IBM’s Linux Watch was making headlines in the tech circles I frequented.

It was a beast but it ran Linux and X11 on your wrist plus it had Bluetooth communications so it could turn your lights off and on, start the coffee maker, even control your TV/Stereo!

This was back when Bluetooth wasn’t in every single phone, so the obvious connection between the watch and the phone wasn’t there at the time, and this was more of a standalone device vs. and accessory.

Today’s phones however, are very well equiped, and it’s actually unusual to see a phone without bluetooth support; So now the interaction between the watch and a paired phone is driving a new market.

When you think of ‘getting out your phone’ compared to ‘glancing at a watch’ the value of having your timepiece reflecting the status of your nearby phone suddenly ‘clicks’.

If Android is a lean/mean version of Linux developed for mobile devices, why aren’t we seeing it used in a watch?

IBM had this working 12 years ago!?

Enter the Google Watch

Google to the rescue! Well, almost, since it’s just a fresh patent vs. an actual product announcement…

If you visit the USPTO link above you’ll see a long list of patented products that are falling into the same classification, some of which are nearly as old as me! Yikes!

Indeed Google’s input is more along the lines of a sister(?) product to the Google Glass project which uses the same display techniques and has a lot of the same goals as this patent.

Speaking of displays, looking at the above image, you’d supposedly release the transparent top display marked as ’30′ (pushing on the latch marked 20?), which would then still keep working as the base display (item 16?) shows other information.

In one of the USPTO images the watch is shown doing some overlay images to apparently assist with price matching/product purchases. If it can break all the sticker prices down by actual price per unit values so they can be compared easily, that alone would make it a must have item for me.

Other Options?

You do NOT have to wait for Google to find the time to build and test this watch.

If you want an Android based watch right now, it’s not cheap, but they are already for sale from other companies.

Here’s the “I’m WATCH” (seriously, that’s the name!) from “i’m SpA” (?!):

It’s attractive, and functional, but it’s not very ‘Google’ and I do believe they found a man with the biggest fingers on the planet to demonstrate it:

The headphone jack seems nuts for a bluetooth device, but it’s very fresh and clearly still a work in progress.

The watch is a device that has to be reliable, functional, and stylish, so it really could take someone like Google to ‘nail it’.

SEO news blog post by Ryan Morben @ 12:15 pm

Categories: Google,IT Industry,just for fun,Misc,Operating Systems,Search Engine News,Technology
Tags: android watch, bluetooth watch, computer watch, Google watch, linux watch —

Older Posts »